Chamber Ensemble

My first work for chamber ensemble turned out to be an ambitious piece performed by the indomitable Nu:BC ensemble; wild colors and a tall structure breaking out over bedlam and then a sumptuous denouement.

A friend of mine approached me and asked me to write something for her bizarre chamber music collective. I replied that I would be absolutely happy to and that, as inspiration for the piece, I’d like each member to pick a favourite cartoon character from their childhood.

I then proceeded to make each movement be about one of these cartoon characters suffering some sort of elaborate and grim demise.

Regal, joyful, boisterous, sentimental, beautiful, sensual, hilarious, and inclusive; the title of this piece isn’t REALLY meant to sonically narrate the famous actor baking a cake – though it certainly could I suppose – I was more interested in the feeling I would associate with such a baker caper, how it makes me smile, and how this piece does much the same.

I love that a title can set up the audiences expectations in a way that makes smashing them into smithereens more rewarding. There is a flavor of blue and comedy about this piece but it retires unexpectedly into something serene.